So this whole board is mostly made up of people banging the drum for the player(s) that they want. I thought it might be fun to go the other way. Who are the players that you do NOT want and why. Let's try to keep it to players that are expected to go in the first 4 rounds. Later round guys are important, but some can get pretty obscure and are often times picked more due to circumstance than anything else. Here are mine.

- I don't want any RBs in the first. I agree with RBF and others that we need to fix our running game, but I feel a first on a RB is the wrong way to go. Every year there are great backs taken later and this year will be no exception. I also believe a RB's success relies heavily on those around him and would rather invest resources there.

- David Njoku- I just don't see the buzz with this guy. His blocking is awful, his routes are weak, and he body catches way too much for a guy with 85 foot long arms. Yes he is a great athlete, but I just don't see a great football player. I think his absolute ceiling is Vernon Davis and I wouldn't spend a first on Vernon Davis. Davis is also a great athlete, but IMO isn't a great football player. He has some nice highlight reel catches, but has only broken 60 catches twice in 12 years and never broken 1k yards.

- Teez Tabor- I fully admit he is quick and has great ball skills, but it takes more than that to play CB in the League. He has a nasty combination of poor long speed and playing soft. I don't think he is fast enough to play outside or on an island and I don't think he is strong enough to play near the LOS. I think he needs a very specific scheme to be a serviceable player and that would limit us defensively.

- John Ross- He is a very good receiver and is just freakishly fast. If he was completely healthy I would be all for him in the first. The problem is that he is a player whose entire game is based around speed with 2 surgically repaired knees. He isn't a player like a guard or safety that can get by with savvy and grit. If he loses that speed he will be decent depth at best and perhaps just camp fodder. I know he has performed since those surgeries, but how long can he hold up? He has had 3 major surgeries (both knees and shoulder) and hasn't faced an NFL defense yet. For me he is way too much of a gamble in the first.

I may come up with more as time goes on. So who are your "no thank you" players?

-Njoku. I don't mind Njoku tbh, and I'd ultimately be able to get behind it, but I do have him lower than most here. I'd love Howard, but otherwise we can wait on the position until the mid rounds and grab a Kittle, a Shaheen, a Roberts or a Sprinkle who would provide more help in the run game than Njoku while simultaneously still giving us upside as a receiver (though admittedly not as much).

-Garrett Bolles. Can he play on the interior? Not where his value is. And I don't think the upgrade he'd provide over Smith or Dotson/Pamphile is worth the investment of #19.

-A Safety at 19. Peppers I could get behind, but Obi or Baker would give me pause. Like both, but not at 19 and not when we have bigger needs and better players there for us. I think Wilcox is going to be alot better than most here think. A mid/late round developmental guy like David Jones seems like a better idea.

-A LB at 19. this should be obvious.

-A DL at 19. Barnett I could get behind if he fell to 19, but noone else is worthy of that pick IMO. Not Taco, not anyone.

I'd be extremely disappointed with any CB, Dalvin Cook or John Ross in the first couple rounds. I wouldn't touch JuJu in the second round. I think Perine and Mack are going to be the committee backs, but not the main piece of the committee. I'd be okay but not ecstatic with Howard or Njoku but I think the majority of Bucs fans would quickly turn on them due to how long it usually takes TEs to adjust to the NFL.

I'm also wary of Njoku and Engram as I think they're pretty raw. I see Howard as a sure thing.

Going to be interesting to see how this years draft plays out and who ends up busting. Only time will tell. This draft class seems so talented and this is probably the most robust understanding I've had of any incoming class - Thanks guys

I see a thread like this I expected to see more names of much less talented prospects. Guys projected for the 6th round, 7th round, UDFA candidates because why would you want guys who aren't very good to begin with. I'm surprised to see so many top names as people guys don't want. Especially when they'd be upgrades on this roster and honestly most rosters. Njoku, Ross, McCaffrey??!! Are you kidding me? You guys are crazy.

Bootz2004 wrote:I see a thread like this I expected to see more names of much less talented prospects. Guys projected for the 6th round, 7th round, UDFA candidates because why would you want guys who aren't very good to begin with. I'm surprised to see so many top names as people guys don't want. Especially when they'd be upgrades on this roster and honestly most rosters. Njoku, Ross, McCaffrey??!! Are you kidding me? You guys are crazy.

Didn't you say you didn't want Howard? That's crazy in the same vein. Pretty much everyone outside of you and MJW see him as a sure thing, especially compared to Njoku.

But that's the point of this. No one knows. This thread is for players we would rather not take at 19. We do this every year. You participate as well by listing why you would rather have x or why player y is a bad fit for us.

Bootz2004 wrote:I see a thread like this I expected to see more names of much less talented prospects. Guys projected for the 6th round, 7th round, UDFA candidates because why would you want guys who aren't very good to begin with. I'm surprised to see so many top names as people guys don't want. Especially when they'd be upgrades on this roster and honestly most rosters. Njoku, Ross, McCaffrey??!! Are you kidding me? You guys are crazy.

Didn't you say you didn't want Howard? That's crazy in the same vein. Pretty much everyone outside of you and MJW see him as a sure thing, especially compared to Njoku.

But that's the point of this. No one knows. This thread is for players we would rather not take at 19. We do this every year. You participate as well by listing why you would rather have x or why player y is a bad fit for us.

No I said Howard is overrated and I wouldn't take him at 19. I'd absolutely love having a guy with his talent and I even said I expect us to take him if he's there at 19. But I do this with the understanding that he's got high bust potential.

uscbucsfan wrote:Didn't you say you didn't want Howard? That's crazy in the same vein. Pretty much everyone outside of you and MJW see him as a sure thing, especially compared to Njoku.

But that's the point of this. No one knows. This thread is for players we would rather not take at 19. We do this every year. You participate as well by listing why you would rather have x or why player y is a bad fit for us.

No I said Howard is overrated and I wouldn't take him at 19. I'd absolutely love having a guy with his talent and I even said I expect us to take him if he's there at 19. But I do this with the understanding that he's got high bust potential.

And the OP didn't say this was exclusive to the 19th pick.

That was in reference to the first round players people were listing

Last edited by uscbucsfan on Wed Apr 12, 2017 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Baker is the guy I dislike most at 19 that I see a decent number of our fans stumping for. Probably because I see him compared to Earl Thomas, which I find absolutely insane. I watched 5 of his games and don't think I saw Baker play the deep safety role once. I kept watching him (like Peppers) because I really like his motor. He's a physical (but athletic with NFL hips) slot corner who didn't look particularly good deep in man or in the limited zone responsibilities I saw him given. I think he is a real project to shoehorn into an NFL FS.

Cam "Handsy" Robinson- I really don't want any OL, but Cam least of all. I see a lot of yellow flags in his future.John Ross- Speed isn't everything and durability is too concerning.Obi Melifonwu- One of those guys that's a better athlete than player, ala Quincy Black.Ryan Ramyzxczxc- More of a project than people make him out to be. I'd be far more okay with it if it wasn't for the hip. A guy that size with a bad hip?Mixon- I'll take a chance in the 3rd, but there are only 2 RBs in this class worth a first round grade and neither will probably be there at 19.

Mixon had ONE bad decision (EXTREMELY) when he was 17 years old...and it was caught on tape. THAT is what is damning him currently. And there are even reports that he'll STILL go in the first.

He has been clean since and BEFORE. Cook, on the other hand, has never been "convicted" of anything but has had MULTIPLE instances of poor decision making and by the Grace of God, he's escaped scott-free.

I'd take Mixon over Cook EVERY time.

Needless to say...Cook is the one player I'd remove from my board. I don't want him...even as an UDFA. Dude is a time bomb waiting to happen.

I also agree with MJ. Howard is one of those guys that are "gonna be great when he gets to the league". I keep hearing about his "talent"...but in COLLEGE...he really didn't do jack-shit. I'll take Njoku...who may be less "NFL ready" NOW...but has actually PRODUCED in college.

This draft seems to be full of guys who "might be really good. Eventually" and not a lot of guys who are "studs" right now.

Wouldn't shock me to see the best player in this draft come out of the 4th/5th/6th round.

Mixon had ONE bad decision (EXTREMELY) when he was 17 years old...and it was caught on tape. THAT is what is damning him currently. And there are even reports that he'll STILL go in the first.

He has been clean since and BEFORE. Cook, on the other hand, has never been "convicted" of anything but has had MULTIPLE instances of poor decision making and by the Grace of God, he's escaped scott-free.

I'd take Mixon over Cook EVERY time.

Needless to say...Cook is the one player I'd remove from my board. I don't want him...even as an UDFA. Dude is a time bomb waiting to happen.

I also agree with MJ. Howard is one of those guys that are "gonna be great when he gets to the league". I keep hearing about his "talent"...but in COLLEGE...he really didn't do jack-shit. I'll take Njoku...who may be less "NFL ready" NOW...but has actually PRODUCED in college.

This draft seems to be full of guys who "might be really good. Eventually" and not a lot of guys who are "studs" right now.

Wouldn't shock me to see the best player in this draft come out of the 4th/5th/6th round.

While I get what you are saying, college production means squat on its own. Look at so many productive college players that have gone on to do nothing. And the reverse is also true. Gaines Adams had more sacks in his last two years at Clemson than JJ Watt and Cameron Wake did their whole college careers combine. Production isn't the end all, you have to go deeper asking WHY a player produced or didn't produce. Was it a system thing? Miscasted? Misused? Product of talent around him? Untouched for 5 yards every run?

Every player is a "might be really good". No guy is a "stud" right now. Maybe they were college studs, sure. But we don't care about college studs, we're looking for NFL studs. None had taken a single NFL snap.

Alpha wrote:I also agree with MJ. Howard is one of those guys that are "gonna be great when he gets to the league". I keep hearing about his "talent"...but in COLLEGE...he really didn't do jack-shit. I'll take Njoku...who may be less "NFL ready" NOW...but has actually PRODUCED in college.

I think this is a little unfair. Howard has more catches and yards over the last 2 seasons compared to njoku. Less TDs. Could it have something to do with UM having kaaya and Bama having a true freshman? Could it be something entirely different? Njoku definitely had a better statline his freshman and sophomore seasons compared to howard. But simply saying that howard didnt produce is unfair imo. Thats like saying mike evans didnt produce in Winstons rookie year.

Obi - Never a fan of guys that have meteoric rises in the draft season. Tape on this guy doesn't show anything close a 1st round player. John Ross - Too worried about his long term health for a guy reliant on speed.